# Begin Thinking Like a Humanitarian

An episode of [The Daily Mastery Podcast by Robin Sharma](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1521068608), 23 Sep 2026, 7:56.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1182776/episodes/19838179-begin-thinking-like-a-humanitarian.mp3

More than ever before. I understand that food is medicine. And through the food that you consume every day, you're either destroying your health, creating disease, in creating increasing inflammation, or through the food you eat, you're becoming healthier. Your nutrition also affects your moods. I'm going to repeat that again because it's so important. Your nutrition affects your moods and of course your nutrition is affecting your Healthset. It'll affect your skin. It'll affect your energy. It will affect the quality of your thinking. It will affect your your performance. So you really want to dial in on the right nutritional plan that is best for you. I think a really smart idea is working with the nutritionist, who can really help you calibrate the right foods for you to eat. And on the subject of nutrition, I'm going to talk a little bit about hydration. I think most people are dehydrated. And by the way, first thing in the morning while you're working out, drink a lot of great water because most people wake up dehydrated. There's some very good science confirming right now you're going to love this piece, some very good science coming out right now, confirming that proper hydration is absolutely essential for proper mitochondrial function. If you don't drink enough water, you're not going to have enough energy. And like I suggest to you, protecting and battleproofing your energy is so important. You can have great dreams, great opportunities, great talents. If you don't have the energy that fight to execute all day long, to be great at work, great with your family, run your rituals, do your deliverables. You're never going to rise to world class in your own unique form of private greatness. So drink a lot of water. Make sure you are very, very well hydrated. The final thing I'll just touch on briefly, because it's so fascinating and important to me is fasting. There's also good research coming out talking about the benefits of caloric restriction. Rats were studied on a restricted calorie diet, and these rats performed better and lived longer than the non calorie restricted rats. There's also research confirming that periods of intermittent fasting reduce inflammation and some of the markers for longevity. I think it's fascinating. If you look at a lot of history's greatest heroes and a lot of the great wisdom traditions. They all had one thing in common periods of fasting. Sure, some of these people did it for spiritual purification. Sure, some of these saints and heroes did it to clean out toxic emotions. So they elevated their Heartset. But I've also seen some of the greatest creative, some of the most productive people on the planet. Some of the true inventors and creative geniuses, they all have one thing in common they fasted. And personally, I fast 24 hours two times a week. And what it does for my mental clarity, what it does for my energy, what it does for myself. Discipline is amazing and the ability to sit there. If I'm working on a new book and just drink fresh lemon tea, just drink fresh water. Just drink my two cups of coffee in the morning and then lock and load and bring it on for 8 or 9 or ten hours. Working on the book, not having to get up, not having to distract myself from my tight bubble of total focus because I'm in a fasted state is amazing. What it does for my self-discipline, my mental clarity, my productivity is incredible. So that's a little bit of a rant on fasting, but it just works so well for me. And like anything I'm sharing with you, try it. It might be another game-changer.

## Transcript

If you look up the term humanitarian in the dictionary, the word humanitarian will simply
say a person who is dedicated to the welfare of humanity. And so I want you to start
thinking like a humanitarian, because often when we use that word, we think of a Mother
Teresa. We think of a Martin Luther King Jr. We think of a Nelson Mandela. We think of
the great people who are working for nonprofits in the Third World, helping people in
need, serving the disadvantage. Yes, those are the humanitarians. But we all have an
opportunity every single day to be humanitarians. Exactly where you and I are planted.
It's just about being a caring human being and being radically helpful to as many people
as possible. Here is a meditation I do almost every morning, and I ask myself a simple
question and then I meditate on it. How may I most be of use to as many people as
possible? How may I most be of use to as many people as possible? I don't know what
tomorrow is going to bring. So today, with that intention, would that focus on being
helpful to as many people as possible? It becomes a decision matrix that frames my
choices. I don't waste as much time. I don't waste a lot of time anyway, but it's much
more of a mono monocle obsession to use every day. I am blessed to live for whatever
time I have left in helpfulness and service to as many people as possible, because I think
the ultimate errand and the greatest call on a human life is not doing things to stroke the
ego. It's not a cumulative toys to look good in society. I think if you want to play with the
heavyweights on the planet, it's about turning down the voice of the ego and less about
me and more about we. And if you want to play in the rare air, if the greatest women and
men who have ever graced the world, it really is about becoming a philanthropist. And
that could mean you give money. I love the term tithing, and the term tithing is an old
term, and it comes from the wisdom traditions where basically you would give 10% of
your income to the disadvantaged. And I can't tell you how many billionaires billionaires.
I was talking to one gentleman. He's in the hospitality industry. He owns all these
fabulous hotels. He is, you know, owns industries. And here's what he said to me when
he and his wife and myself sat down and spent about two hours together. He said, you
know, my financial empire transformed when I started giving money to charity. I talked
to another multibillionaire who is a good friend. He made his fortune in the fitness
industry. And he said to me, he said, you know what? Everything changed the year I
started giving back. I love the Giving Pledge, where a lot of the financial titans on the
planet have vowed to give away their entire fortunes before they die. One of my favorite
books is The Billionaire Who Wasn't. It's the story of the gentleman who came up with
the idea of duty free shops. And he got to a place with that concept, you know, putting
duty free shops in airports across the world. And he got to a place where he literally said
we were just printing money. The beautiful thing is silently and quietly, because
philanthropy without anonymity is an ego pursuit. Please think about that. Philanthropy
without anonymity is an ego pursuit. If you give money away and you tell the world all
about it, well, is that to stroke your ego? I'm always very careful about the things that I do
designed to seek applause, because that's not about leadership and service. That's about
me filling a hole and insecurity within myself. And so if you give away money to have
your name on a hospital wing, is that to fit in? Is that to be popular? Is it to be liked? Is it
to feel good about yourself? Because deep down inside, consciously or subconsciously,
you don't really feel good about yourself? Or is it real giving? I mean, giving with an
expectation of receiving is not giving. It's a trade. So be a real giver. And so what this
person did, you know, again, the book is the billionaire who wasn't quietly without
anyone knowing about it, anonymously. He started giving away his entire fortune to
those who were in need. And last time I checked, he lived in a relatively small apartment
with his wife in San Francisco, and his multibillion dollar fortune was down to a few
million dollars. Of course, that's still a fair amount of money. But when you have multi
billions and you've given it all away, it's pretty impressive to me. So I want you to think
about being not only a humanitarian because the world needs more kindness. The the
world needs more people who are caring. The world needs you. You to go out there and
shine a light on people and to be helpful to people. And you might say, well, Robin, I'm a
hard driving entrepreneur, or I'm a CEO of a big company, or I'm building all these
empires. Yes. Do it with the intention of serving, of releasing your products and the
world so that they create radical streams of value and helpfulness to all of your customers
and to all of your suppliers and all of your communities, so that ultimately, what you are
doing is being on a mission for the betterment of the world. And the byproduct really will
be a lot of money and a lot of acclaim and true applause. And you'll feel amazing about
yourself, but you won't be doing it as an ego journey. You'll be doing it as a servant
leader. And that's the game the great ones all play.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.